Caught
by SandyKirsten
Summary: Eric was a private man. Tami is the only one that should see a certain side to him.


_**This is my first crack at writing Tami &amp; Eric. I fell in love with their relationship on Friday Night Lights as soon as laid eyes on them. I hope you enjoy this! **_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**_

He knew men always admired his wife. He knew she turned heads when she walked by a table full of boosters. He knew the teenage boys he coached probably admired her. _Admired._ He didn't want to think about the way they probably thought of her, locked in their parent's bathroom.

He once overheard a conversation Jason and Tim were having about his wife. They were on the sidelines as Jason was describing a dream he had. He probably wouldn't have even turned an ear to that conversation but he heard Jason say "Coach's wife" and started paying attention. Then he heard Tim say something along the lines that he has had _that_ dream too.

He knew men like Glenn wanted her desperately. Glenn wasn't a threat to him. In fact, if it wasn't for Glenn, he probably would have never known that Tami kissed another man. According to Tami, it wasn't really a kiss. He initially made a joke about it, explaining that by proxy, he has now kissed Glenn. After a day or two, he kept thinking about it. Although he knew it meant nothing to Tami, it meant something to him. He needed to know the details. He needed to know where it happened, what words were exchanged right before and after, how long it had lasted, was it open mouthed and if this was the first time.

He knew Tami loved him unconditionally. He knew she wouldn't put up with his stubbornness, his grouchiness and his constant watching of game tape if she didn't. She understood him, she supported him and she once told him that she would follow him anywhere.

He also knew what they had was rare. He knew there was not many married couples their age that still had the passionate attraction they shared. He knew that there was no way Joe McCoy was getting laid as much as he was. He loved that he made people jealous. He loved what he had in Tami. He never wanted to jeopardize that.

Tami often told him how attractive he was and, after all these years, he believed her. He was attractive to her and that was all that mattered. He was an aging man and never cared what anyone else thought. The only thing that mattered was Tami and how she felt. He knew from his high school years and some of his college years, that he wasn't bad looking. Women always threw themselves at him. He figured it was because of his football status, but he also knew it was because of his nonchalance. He didn't try to play hard to get, but he just came off that way. The few girls he was with in high school before he met Tami meant nothing more than mere experimentation. The countless women he slept with in college, because he and Tami broke up, were all mainly acts of revenge. He knew those college girls envisioned a life as the wife of a NFL superstar. They used him just as much as he used them.

Tami came to her senses. That is how he always told the story to Julie and will one day to Gracie. Tami realized that that he couldn't go on without him. It was Tami who was lost without him. Tami felt the need to uproot her entire life for him. They both knew that wasn't true. It was Eric and a drunken phone call that disclosed his recklessness. He was drinking too much, sleeping with too many girls all because she left him. His football stats were in the shitter because deep down he knew he couldn't function without her.

Fast forward twenty years and they still had that passionate relationship they had in high school, in their final years of college and during all their years of marriage. Tami knew that women admired her husband. She saw how women looked at him while he was coaching on Friday nights while he unleashed his passion for this sport. She saw how women stared at him when he put on a suit, looking amazing in a lightly starched shirt and tie. When she got together with some of these women at book club or bunko night, she never needed to brag. Those women were jealous of her sexy husband and the relationship they had.

Eric was a private person and no one needed to know the personal aspects of his life. Buddy knew a little, Mac sensed his lack of getting laid after Gracie came into their life and Matt had seen him and Tami being affectionate. That was it. He didn't want his team to see any other side of him other than being a hard-ass. He didn't need them to see what he was like around Tami. He didn't need them to see that she could melt him like butter in her hands.

That is why he was absolutely mortified when his players got a glimpse of his alter-ego. He couldn't tell you the exact time of day it was, but it was sometime between classes letting out and before practice started. Students were vacating and athletes were getting ready for practice. His boys weren't due on the field until 4pm. While his eyes were focused on play diagrams, his mind was focused on Tami.

He missed her. When she got promoted to principal, he thought he would see more of her. This was such a turn-on for him. Tami in a position of authority, with a big office and him only one floor down. He fantasized about him making excusable visits upstairs and closing the door behind him. He dreamed of taking her to the highest place of ecstasy, right there on her desk, showing her that sometimes he likes to be in charge off the field.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. He went to her office that very morning, and as usual she wasn't there. She was always in a meeting off-site at the Board of Education. She always had students in her office that he hoped were not any of his players. She continually had parents in her office when he would happen to visit. He would stare at her through the glass and notice that some of the fathers would be staring at her chest while their wife sat right next to him.

Since taking this job, she would get home so very late which left little time for him at night. The time that they always cherished and never took for granted. So on that Thursday afternoon, it was hard for him to keep the surprise out of his voice when she came down to his office.

"Hey!" Eric exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Tami ignored his question as she stepped into his office, looking back through the open door she just crossed through. She pointed behind her as she spoke. "Where are your boys? The locker room looks empty."

He was the one to ignore her question now. He barely heard what she said anyway. His head was clouded with her amazing body and how much he missed how it felt on top of him. "What brings you down here?" He was hoping it was for something totally inappropriate, but knew Tami better than that. He knew she hated started anything they couldn't finish.

"I came to let you know that I am fully aware of the fact that you and I have not…." She struggled with how to say it as she waved a hand between them. "...spent any time together lately." She started walking toward his desk, but stopped, knowing she could not get too close.

He could feel the sexual tension between them. Again, his mind was clouded with what she was saying, what it meant and how they can rectify this problem. He didn't care that his office door was still open and that the blinds were not shut all the way. He liked to tease her, knowing it drives her crazy. "We're adults with demanding jobs, Tami. It's expected." He said to her nonchalantly.

_He must be crazy_, she thought. They have not shared one deep physical moment in three weeks. She was taken by surprise, which is probably why she didn't hear the boys entering the locker room. She recovered quickly, knowing how to play his game. She took another step closer, now able to lean her hands on his desk, standing over him as he kept his seat in his chair. "Doesn't it bother you?"

As she leaned over him, he struggled to keep his eyes locked with hers. He wanted so desperately to lower his eyes to her chest. She always wore those low cut shirts, driving him and probably every other man crazy. "Doesn't what bother me?" He played back, wanting to hear her say it. He leaned further back in his chair, wishing her to come even closer, pushing her to see how far she was willing to cross.

She chuckled lightly and he couldn't keep a straight face. The corners of his lips curved up which drove her crazy. With their eyes locked, they didn't notice Smash, Riggins, Matt and Landry starting to walk out to the football field. They also didn't notice that they stopped, shocked to witness their hard-ass coach smiling, his facial features softened. They have never seen him like this. Then they heard their Principal speak and knew they should keep walking.

"Come on, Eric. I know you better than you know yourself. " She said it teasingly, wanting him to give her something. Wasn't she the one that came to his office to make the first move? "Don't pretend like you don't need it. Don't pretend like you don't want it."

The Panthers in the hallways could not keep the look of shock off of their faces. No wonder Coach has been so unbearable lately. He wasn't getting laid. Tim, of all people, knew the importance of that. But why? They were all thinking it. Why, when the hot Principal was practically begging for it?

Eric broke her stare, looking down and taking a deep breath. He was trying to regain some composure. He stood up and leaned his hands on the opposite side of the desk. He was now eye level with her, but the desk blocked any chance of their bodies touching. "What if I said you were right?" He challenged.

"Well, I'm always right!" She laughed as she said it, holding his stare and happy he got up out of that chair. "I'd love to hear what I'm right about." She challenged him back.

He laughed back, admitting in his head that she was smarter than him. "I need you like I need air." He said it as he started to come around the desk to her side. He placed one hand on her hip, pulling her to turn around to face him, her backside now leaning against the desk.

Tami knew he wasn't a man of many words when it came to her. He was never filled with long, romantic speeches. He believed that actions speak louder than words. Long motivational speeches were reserved for his boys, in his locker room and on his field. Tami knew he communicated with his eyes, his smile and if she was lucky, his tongue.

"Tonight?" She asked, practically begging for him to be ready. Her eyes searched his, hoping he was fully understanding what she was asking. "I'll make sure I get home at a decent time." Her hands were gripping the desk behind her, her knuckles were turning white. She felt a sense of relief when she loosened her grip to run her hands up his arms, over his biceps. God, she missed his hard body.

Eric succumbed to her touch. He moved his hands to cup her face. He leaned in and giggled. He only giggled like that when he was nervous or being playful with her. "Now?" He posed it as a question, but gave her no room to answer. He leaned in and kissed her hard. His one hand moved from her face to the back of her head, pulling her into him deeper. He opened his mouth, pushing his tongue past her lips, searching for hers. Forgetting where they were, he removed his other hand from her face, to her shoulder, down her arm and went to reach for her ass. He needed her closer, wanted her closer. He was completely powerless.

And then it happened. His ears were pierced with a high pitched cat-call of a whistle. He immediately pulled away, searching where it came from. Hi eyes were met with the 4 smug looks of his Panthers. "Way to go, Coach!" That was Smash, always filling the silence.

Tami smiled, putting her head down, knowing that Eric was probably dying a slow death caused by embarrassment. He felt a little awkward, but she didn't have to face those boys for the next two hours. She didn't need to have the hard-ass image her husband felt the need to have. She knew he felt like he lost his leverage.

Tim spoke up next. "Coach, if you need to get home, we can cancel practice." He spoke slowly, knowing it irritated Coach further. "Maybe you need us to shut this door right now?"

Without looking at them, he spoke in an even tone, trying to sound in control. "See you on the field gentleman!" He said it sternly enough to get his point across. He needed a minute. "Get your asses out there, start your stretches. Matt, you call it out today."

"O-Oh-Okay." It was the first words Matt spoke. Julie spoke of her parents like this. Hell, he has witnessed the cuddling on the couch, but he has never seen Coach like this. He was uncomfortable for Coach and tried to ease the awkwardness. "Hi Mrs. Coach", he said as he started to walk away.

Smash turned the final screw. "Yeah, Coach. Let's shut the door. Maybe take it a little easier on us today."

Eric spun around, his embarrassment replaced with anger. He raised his voice to the point of yelling. "Get the hell out of here on go straight to the line boys!"

Tami needed to do damage control, feeling sorry for them as they started to turn to walk away. She started walking toward the door to where they were standing. "I'm going to go." She said it to Eric and then called to the Panthers, "Good luck today boys!"

She continued walking out the door, but Eric grabbed her hand to stop her. "Thanks!" He said with a smile, letting her know he wasn't mad. "For that little stunt, you are going to get it tonight."

Eric was a private man. He only wanted Tami to see this side of him. She knew this, but ultimately what happened today, but only going to benefit her later.

_**-Please click that button to leave a review. I need the encouragement. I haven't wrote anything in a few years and could use either the encouraging words or the constructive criticism.**_


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